I 


University  of  Calif ornia  •  Berkeley 


HISTORICAL    SOCIETY 

OF  NEW  MEXICO. 
No.  7. 


THE 

FRANCISCAN  MARTYRS 

Of  1680. 


Funeral  Oration  over  the  Twenty-one  Franciscan 

Missionaries  Killed  by  the  Pueblo  Indians, 

August  10,  1680. 


Preached  by 

DOCTOR  YSIDRO  SARI&ANA  Y  CUENCA, 
March  20,  1681. 


SANTA  FE,  N.  M. 

NEW  MEXICAN  PRINTING  COMPANY 

1906. 


ft- 


HISTORICAL    SOCIETY 

OF  NEW  MEXICO. 

No.  7. 

I 

THE 

FRANCISCAN  MARTYRS 

Of  1680. 


Funeral  Oration  over  the  Twenty-one  Franciscan 

Missionaries  Killed  by  the  Pueblo  Indians, 

August  10,  1680. 


Preached  by 

DOCTOR  YSIDRO  SARI^ANA  Y  CUENCA, 
March  20,  1681. 


SANTA  FE,  N.  M. 
NEW  MEXICAN  PRINTING  COMPANY 
1906. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE 

HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

OF  NEW  MEXICO. 
1906. 


President — HON.  L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE,  LL.  D. 
Vice-President — HON.  WILLIAM  J.  MILLS. 
Corresponding  Secretary — Miss  BERTHA  STAAB. 
Kecording   Secretary — WILLIAM  M.  BERGER,  ESQ. 
Treasurer — COL.  MAX  FROST. 
Curator — MR.    HENRY  WOODRUFF. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

No.  1.— 1881— Inaugural  Address  of  Hon.  W.  G.  Ritch. 
No.   2.— "Kin  and  Clan,"  by  Adolph  F.  Bandelier. 

No.  3.— 1896— "The  Stone  Idols  of  New  Mexico."  (Illus 
trated.  ) 

No.  4.— 1903— "The  Stone  Lions  of  Cochili,"  by  Hon.  L. 
Bradford  Prince. 

No.  5. — 1904 — Biennial  Report;  English. 
No.  6.— 1904— Biennial  Report;  Spanish. 
No.  7.— 1906— "The  Franciscan  Martyrs  of  1680." 


PREFACE. 

Tliis  Sermon  is  OIK-  of  the  most  interesiing  documents 
connected  with  early  New  Mexican  history,  as  it  gives  a 
cotemporary  account  of  the  killing  of  the  twenty-one  Fran 
ciscan  missionaries,  who  lost  their  lives  at  the  opening  of 
the  Pueblo  Revolution  of  1680,  on  August  10th.  The  list 
which  it  contains  of  those  Christian  martyrs  is  beyond 
question  exactly  correct,  as  it  comes  from  their  brethren 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis;  and  the  statements  of  the 
Sermon  set  at  rest  any  doubts  that  existed  as  to  the  cause 
of  the  uprising,  and  show  that  it  wa<  principally  religious. 

No  copy  of  this  Sermon  existed  in  New  Mexico,  and 
none  has  been  obtainable  in  the  City  of  Mexico  for  many 
vears ;  so  that  it  is  considered  a  piece  of  special  good  for 
tune  that  this  copy  was  found  in  Santiago  d<1  Chile  and 
obtained  from  there.  It  is  understood  that  there  is  only  one 
perfect  copy  available  in  South  America,  and  that  is  val 
ued  at  one  thousand  francs.  The  one  acquired  had  been 
somewhat  injured  by  mice,  though  not  enough  to  lessen 
its  practical  usefulness,  and  its  price  \vas  therefore  with 
in  the  means  of  the  Societv. 

In  publishing  this  edition  of  this  Sermon,  in  Knglish. 
the  title  page  is  reproduced  in  full  as  a  specimen  of  the 
original  typography.  The  reproduction  is  necessarily  re 
duced  in  size,  but  shows  this  typography  clearly,  and  the 
work  of  the  mice  in  the  upper  corner.  The  capitaliza 
tion,  and  the  spelling  of  proper  names,  are  preserved  : 
and  the  Latin  sentences  printed  in  italics  are  those  which 
are  similarly  distinguished  in  the  Mexican  edition. 

The  memorial  service  wa,<  held  in  the  Cathedral  of  the 
City  of  Mexico  in  the  proencc  of  the  Viceroy  of  V  1 
Spain  and  other  high  officials.  March  1,  1681,  and  the 
Sermon  was  published  during  the  same  year,  with  a  pre 
liminary  address  to  the  King  by  Frawisco  de  Ayefa. 
Franciscan  Visitador  of  the  Custodia  of  New  Mexico:  ,i 
certificate  of  approbation  from  Bernardo  Vardo.  the  Pro 
vincial  head  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Mexico:  and  other 
introductory  documents. 

L.  B.  P. 


ORACIO 


FVNEB! 

QVE  DIXO  EL  DO 

I  D.  Y  S  I D  R  O  S  A  R 1 5  A  N  A,  V  C  V  E  N  C  A 


otan:!    e 


Chantre  de  la  Santa,  Iglefia  Metro 

Mexko  CitliedraikodePni-nadeKagratia  Efcrsrwra  en 

la  Reil  VtJi^erfidad.CalificadoTd^lTubunai  del  Santo 

Officiodelalnquificion^y  E 


IS*  .  &  aiazo.de  Mar  f  ode  1681. 
Prcfentecl  Ex,nv)SenorMarqu 
Concede  Paredcs,  Virrey  delta  Kiieva-Eipana. 
£iV  /dj  Exequias  At  veintey  *un  RcKgio/os  dc  la  Regular 
Qbfervatttta  dels  trainee  T*.  *P.  Francijco  *>  qu<  marieron 

a.-manos  dtlos  Indws  sttiAtas  de  la  JNtteva  -Mexico* 


ImpnmeJa^y  Dedicalad  laCatholica,y  Real 
Mageftad  de  «jl  Rey  K  .  Senor 


ElR.P.PredicadorFr.FRAKCis€6  AYETA^ 

Cuftodio  habitual  deaquejja  Caftodia,atcKialVifitador 

dee!la,yComiflario  General  del  Santo  Ofiiciode  la 


SERMON. 


IN  DOMINO  CONFIDO. 

"In  the  Lord  put  I  my  trust.  How  say  ye  to  my  soul, 
Flee  as  a  bird  to  the  mountains?"  (From  Psalm  XL) 

In  the  Lord  put  I  my  trust;  I  put  my  trust  in  the 
Lord.  How  then  dost  thou  say  to  me  that  I  should 
imitate  the  cowardice  of  a  bird,  and  that,  with  fear  giving 
me  wings,  I  should  flee  to  the  mountains  ? 

Who,  with  such  a  courageous  and  generous  resolution, 
founded  not  on  his  own  strength,  but  on  his  confidence 
in  God,  resolves  boldly  to  face  all  danger,  disregarding 
the  counsel  of  those  who  advise  him  to  avoid  every  risk  ? 

Thus  literally  speaks  David,  who,  when  pursued  by 
Saul,  resists  the  counsel  of  those  who  would  persuade 
him  to  return  to  Judea,  where  the  fury  of  his  enemy  con 
cealed  by  craft  and  cunning,  menaces  him. 

Thus  speaks,  allegorically,  Christ,  our  Lord,  returning 
with  noble  intrepidity  to  Jerusalem,  where  the  cruel  in 
gratitude  of  the  Hebrews  treacherously  lays  wait  for  him. 

Thus  speaks  the  tropological  understanding  of  the  Cath 
olic  pursued  by  impiety. 

Thus  speaks  the  Holy  Eeligion  of  the  most  Glorious 
Patriarch  and  Seraphic  Padre,  St.  Francis,  which,  though 
cruelly  persecuted  by  confederated  evil,  yet  regardless  of 
this  temporal  life,  in  order  that  the  glory  of  God  should 
suffer  no  detriment,  determined  to  bare  its  breast  to  all 
dangers,  and  went  again  to  the  same  place  where  it  had 
already  experienced  the  danger  and  where  the  blood  of  its 
sonis  had  been  wickedly  shed,  and  refused  to  be  influenced 
by  those  who  with  specious  reasoning  would  dissuade  it 
from  returning. 

Thus  says  Jansen,  in  the  argument  of  the  Psalm:  "Se 
se  hoc  Psalmo  consoldri  potest  Justus  quisque,  cui  sua- 


8 


tli'lur.    i/l    fi^ojilcr    unfnoruni     tnnli'sfins.    <-f    ]>i'rx 

derelinquat  Innuii  suum,  impiisque  t-n/nf  nun  th'lrimt'ntn 
gloruu  Ih'i." 

Insisting,  then,  on  this  ;  ropological  or  moral  sense,  let 
us  see  on  what  reasons  the  counsel  which  those  who  would 
have  persuaded  David  to  escape  like  a  coward  from  the 
persecution  of  Saul,  was  founded. 

In  truth,  the-  Prophet  explains  this  in  such  a  \vav  that 
it  seems  simply  a  description  of  the  sad  event  which  we 
mourn  over  to-day. 

Is  not  this  a  secrel  con-piracv  of  the  'Indians  of  Xew 
Mc\ic<>.  who,  departing  from  the  Christian  religion,  secretly 
prepared  the  how  and  treacherously  made  readv  the  arrow- 
within  the  quiver,  ungratefully  designing  them  for  the 
innocent  breasts  of  the  sons  of  Francis,  who  with  rectitude 
of  heart,  as  Minister.-  of  the  Gospel,  were  instructing  them 
in  the  knowledge  of  God;  and  this  with  such  artful  dis 
simulation  that  it  was  concealed  till  the  moment  of  exe 
cution,  no  premonition  coming  hel'ore  the  blow  itself,  when 
on  the  same  day.  twenty-one  Ministers  of  the  (lo-pd  wen- 
cruelly  slain. 

I  do  not  know  anv  better  wav  in  which  this  event  can 
be  expressed,  in  other  words,  than  in  those  which  the 
Prophet  adds  as  those  which  were  used  to  him  by  the 
men  who  would  dissuade  him  from  returning  to  .Judea: 
"Quonian  ecce  peccatores  intenderunt  aivum.  paraverunt 
-airittas  suas  in-  pharetra,  ut  sagittent  in  ohseuro  rectos 
corde." 

"For  lo.  the  imn'odlv  bend  their  bow.  and  make  readv 
their  arrows  within  the  quiver:  that  thev  mav  privily  -hoot 
at  them  which  are  true  of  heart." 

The  most  lamentable  part  of  this  sad  event  was  that 
rvervthing  which  the  merciful  hand  of  God.  by  the  medium 
of  his  Ministers,  in  a  hundred  years*  had  brought  to  per 
fection.  whether  in  spiritual  matters,  in  adding  to  the 
Church  such  a  number  of  sons,  begotten  b\  the  (Gospel 


*0riginal    Note  l'n  Sermon — The  first    KYliginus  entered 
\ew  Mexico  in  the  vear  1.">S1.  ToTQUemada  •">-)>.  lilt.  '.I.  e.  !'. 


to  fervent  devotion  in  this  Sacred  Religion;  or  in  mate 
rial  affairs,  of  so  many  Temples,  erected,  and  so  appro 
priately  furnished;  all  was  destroyed  in  one  day. 

So,  also,  the  Prophet,  talking  with  God,  lament's  the 
mysterious  dispensation  in  these  words :  "Quoniam  qua?, 
perfecisti,  destruxerunt."  As  if  he  would  say,  "Ah !  Lord, 
they  tell  me  not  to  return,  because  those  ingrates,  bar 
barously  and  impiously  breaking  Thy  holy  laws,  and  dis 
regarding  Thy  Gospel,  pursue  Thy  servants  even  to  the 
death,  destroy  everything  that  has  been  erected  and  burn 
Thy  temples  to  ashes/' 

Almost  all  this,  Jansen  says  in  his  paraphrase  of  this 
verse:  "Quoniam  quae  perfecisti  destruxerwit.  Leges, 
quas  servandas  constituisti,  impii  dissipaverunt,  legibus 
gue  tuis  neglectis,  inique  justos  persequetur  ad  mortem." 

Giving  careful  attention  to  the  words  of  the  Royal 
Prophet,  and  having  consulted  with  diligent  study  the 
Doctors  who  have  expounded  them,  they  lead  to  the  chief 
intent  of  my  oration :  That  we  bear  in  mind  all  the  de 
plorable  circumstances  of  the  case,  which  we  lament;  and 
comfort  ourselves  in  pious  confidence  of  that'  better  life, 
to  which  those  who  died  at  the  hands  of  such  sacrilegious 
impiety  have  passed. 

"The  ungodly,"  says  the  text,  "'bend  their  bow  and  make 
ready  their  arrows  within  the  quiver,  that  they  may  privily 
shoot  at  them  t'hat  are  true  of  heart."  These  are  the  words 
translated  into  Spanish  from  the  Latin:  "Quoniamecce 
peccatores  intenderunt  arcum,  paravenmt  sagittas  suas 
in  pharetra,  ut  sagittet  in  obscuro  rectos  corde." 

But,  to  give  more  attention  to  the  signification  than'  to 
the  sound,  the  phrase  "in  obscuro"  means,  as  it  is  ex 
pounded  by  Lyra  and  Dionisio  Cartusiano,  ffLatenter  et 
insidiose;"  as  this  is  the  sense  intended  to  be  conveyed: 
"They  prepared  the  arrows  and  made  ready  the  bows  with 
such  caution,  that,  concealing  the  intent!  and  deceiving 
as  to  the  object,  the  notice  came  at  the  same  time  as  the 
wound."  It  could  not  come  sooner  or  later,  as  it  was 
borne  on  the  swift  wings  of  the  arrows,  which  were  al- 
roadv  on  their  mission  of  destruction. 


10 

That  Kingdom  was  then,  as  the  Governor  says,  in  his 
letter  of  September  8th  of  last  year,  "entirely  foreign  in 
character  from  the  event  which  was  so  soon  to  occur, 
judging  from  the  peace  and  tranquility  which  prevailed." 
He  speaks  of  what  appeared  as  the  outward  cloak  of  hypoc 
risy.  Everything  seemed  to  be  peaceful  outwardly;  but 
inwardly  all  was  rabid  passion,  instigated  by  the  devil; 
for,  on  the  10th  day  of  August,  dedicated  by  our  Holy 
Mother  Church  to  the  honor  of  the  Most  Glorious  Spanish 
Protomartyr,  St.  Lawrence,  the  fury  of  the  nefarious  sac 
rilegious  wickedness,  which  had  been  hidden  in  the  quiver 
of  the  heart,  suddenly  broke  forth. 

On  this  day,  the  venerable  Padre  Fray  Juan  Bautista 
Pio,  a  native  of  the  City  of  Victoria  in  the  Province  of 
Alaba,  having  gone  to  celebrate  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  at  the  Pueblo  of  Tesuque,  which  is  a  mission  of  the 
City  of  Santa  Fe,  the  Capital  of  that  Kingdom,  wa> 
killed  by  the  Indians  of  that  very  pueblo. 

This  is  the  death  which  is  first  mentioned  in>  the  authen 
tic  accounts  of  the  conspiracy.  If  confederated  cruelty 
was  wickedly  pursuing  innocence,  it  is  clear  that  there 
had  to  be  a  Pio  as  the  first  target  of  the  arrows  which 
impiety  and  apostasy  shot  against  the  Christian  Religion. 

Passing  from  sacrilege  to  robbery,  they  carried  away 
the  scanty  supplies  which  the  Convento  had  for  its  own 
subsistence,  and  like  the  wicked  in  the  proverb,  without 
knowing  who  pursued  them,  they  fled  to  the  mountains. 

"Fugite   imius  nemine   persequentc."     Proverbs   28:1. 

On  that  same  morning  they  killed  in  different  and  dis 
tant  Conventos  twenty  other  Religious. 

In  Santa  Cruz  de  Galisteo,  the  Reverend  Fathers  Fray 
Juan  Bernal,  the  actual  Custodian,  and  Fray  Domingo  de 
Vera,  natives  of  the  most  noble  City  of  Mexico. 

At  San  Bartolome  de  Xongopavi,  the  Rev.  Padre  Fray 
Joseph  de  Truxillo,  a  man  of  exemplary  virtues,  the  knowl 
edge  of  which  induced  the  higher  Prelates  to  elect  him 
First  Guardian  and  Prelate  of  the  Convento  of  San  Cosme 
without  the  walls  of  this  citv,  when  it  was  erected  as  a 


11 

memorial,  under  the  title  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Conso- 
lacion. 

At  the  Convento  of  Porciuncula,  the  Rev.  Padre  Fray 
Fernando  de  Velasco,  who  had  served  thirty  years  as  a 
missionary  in  that  Holy  Custodia;  both  of  these  latter  be 
ing  natives  of  Cadiz. 

In  that  of  Nambe,  the  Reverend  Padre  Fray  Thomas  de 
Torres,  a  native  of  Tepozotlan. 

In  that  of  San  Ildephonso,  the  Reverend  Parde  Fray 
Luis  de  Morales,  a  native  of  Ubeda  or  Baeza ;  and  in  com 
pany  with  him,  the  brother  Fray  Antonio  Sanches  de 
Pro,  a  native  of  this  city,  who  from  the  order  of  the  Des- 
calces  passed  to  the  Observancia,  with  the  object  of  going 
to  serve  in  that  Holy  Custodia. 

In  that  of  San  Lorenzo  de  Picuries,  the  Reverend  Padre 
Fray  Mathias  Rendon. 

In  that  of  San  Geronimo  de  Taos,  the  Reverend  Padre 
Fray  Antonio  de  Mora;  both  the  last  named  being  natives 
of  the  City  of  Los  Angeles;  and  in  the  same  Convento  de 
Taos,  Brother  Fray  Juan  de  la  Pedrosa,  a  native  of 
Mexico. 

In  that  of  San  Marcos,  the  Reverend  Padre  Fray  Man 
uel  Tinoco,  a  son  of  the  Province  of  San  Miguel  in  Estre- 
madura. 

In  that  of  Santo  Domingo,  the  Reverend  Padres  Fray 
Francisco  Antonio  Lorenzana,  a  native  of  Galicia;  Fray 
Juan  de  Talaban,  Custbdio  habitual,  a  native  of  Seville, 
who  had  been  a  missionary  almost  twenty  years,  and  Fray 
Joseph  de  Montesdoca,  a  native  of  Queretaro. 

In  that  of  San  Diego  de  Jemez,  the  Reverend  Padre 
Fray  Juan  de  Jesus,  a  native  of  Granada. 

In  that  of  San  Estevan  of  Acoma,  the  Reverend  Padre 
Fray  Lucas  Maldonado,  Difinidor  actual,  a  native  of  Tri- 
bugena. 

In  that  of  the  Purisima  Concepcion  of  Alona,  the  Rev 
erend  Padre  Fray  Juan  del  Val,  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Castile. 

In  that  of  Aguatubi,  the  Reverend  Padre  Fray  Joseph 
de  Figueroa,  a  native  of  Mexico. 

In  that  of  Oraibe,  the  Reverend  Padre  Fray  Joseph  de 


12 

Espeleta,  Custodio  habitual,  a  native  of  Kstcla  ii;  the 
Kingdom  of  Navarre,  who  had  been  thirty  years  a  mis 
sionary,  and  the  Eeverend  I'ndiv  Krav  Agu>tin  de  Santa 
Mafia,  a  native  of  Pasquaro. 

Now  then,  all  of  these  murder-  wen-  committed  on  the 
same  day.  It  is  clear  that  to  attain  that  result,  tlvj  prpp- 
arations  must!  have  been  made  long  hefore.  How,  then, 
can  we  best  explain  a  revolutionary  uprising  so  long  pre 
meditated  and  so  can-Cully  concealed?  How  explain  that 
deceptive  humility  and  ceremonious  submissiveness  so  ob 
servable  among  the  Indians  on  the  9th  of  Angus'-,  and 
that  insane  fury  which  characterized  them  on  the  loth? 

Xot  in  any  other  manner  than  that  which  follows:  The 
very  instruments  that  they  used  are 'the  best  hieroglyphics 
or  emblems  of  the  secret  deceptive  simulation  with  which 
they  proceeded.  The  quiver  in  which  the  arrows  are  hid 
den  is  the  symbol  of  dissimulation,  in  which  treason  i? 
concealed;  and  thus  in  the  met'aphor  of  the  quiver,  tin- 
Prophet  describes  it:  "Paraverunt  sagittas  siias  in  /;//</- 
retro,!'  Daughters  of  the  Quiver,  Jeremiah  called  vhe 
arrows  in  Chapter .  3  of  the  Book  of  Lamentations: 
"Tetendit  arcum  suum,  et  posuit  me  quasi  xifjnitni  ad 
MpUtam.l  Misit  invenibit*  inn's  /iJins  /ihnretrae  suae." 

I  see  that  in  this  place  Jeremiah  uses  the  words  "Quiver 
of  God,"  "pharetrae  suae,"  for  those  most  mysterious 
Divine  judgments  and  secret  designs  from  which  God 
permitted  that  He  should  suffer,  like  arrows  which  piercect 
Him  through,  in  all  the  calamities,  which  in  His  persecu 
tion  afflicted  Him.  And  thus  says  Saint  Jerome.  "Pha- 
ri'/ni  Di'i  f.sV  nmlliuH  Dei  indicium." 

But  the  same  quiver  which  symbolizes  the  mysterious 
judgment  of  God  in  the  sufferings  of  His  Servants,  may 
also  be  a  symbol  of  the  dissimulation  with  which  tho-i-  who 
malignantly  pursue  then)  hide  their  depraved  intent  ion<: 
as  the  bow  which  in  the  hands  of  the  sinner  represents 
the  cunning  of  malignit'y:  "PttCdtore*  iiifniiln-nnt  ar- 
rinn  :"  and  in  the  hand  of  God.  where  .Jeremiah  looked 
upon  it,  {vointed  in  an  entirely  different  direction,  to  the 
persecution  which  His  Providence  permits.  "Trlnulll  <ir- 
cum  xuinn.  t(:  //ox////  ni-e  (/unsi  sif/niim  ml  s<i</iftam" 


13 

Daughter  of  the  Quiver  is  the  name  used  for  the  ar 
rows,  because  they  are  in  it!  as  in  the  womb,  which  con 
ceals  them,  until,  when  they  are  placed  on  the  bow-string, 
the  power  of  the  hand  which  shoots  them  brings  them 
to  light.  The  Doctissimo  Padre  .Martin  Del  Rio  remarks, 
"filias  pharetrae  vocal  more  hebraeo  sagittas,  co  quod  in 
pharetrae  obserratae.,  velut  in  utero  custodiantur,  &  inde 
promptae,  velut  proles  in  lucem  mittantur."  And  it  may 
even  be  that  from  the  Hebrew  source  came  the  phrase  used 
by  Horace,  who  calls  a  quiver  full  of  arrows  a  womb  preg 
nant  with  darts.  An  observation  of  the  same  Doctor,  not 
alluded  to  before  by  the  commentator  of  this  poet  is  the 
following :  "Nee  venenatis  gravida  sagittis., 
"Fusee,  pliarctra." 

The  Quivers,  then,  which  were  arranged  beforehand,  were 
symbols  of  the  treason  which  they  concealed;  because  that 
as  one  hides  the  arrow  in  the  quiver  until  the  occasion  ar 
rives  for  the  shooting  to  bring  it  to  light,  even  so  in 
these  men,  the  treason'  concealed  in  their  depraved  souls 
was  hidden  until  the  appointed  day  in  which  their  fury 
broke  forth  unexpectedly  and  swiftly.  "Et  inde  promptae, 
velut  proles  in  lucem  mittantur." 

But  even  a  clearer  symbol  of  their  treason  was  the  arrow. 
Who  does  not  know  that  naturally  submissive  manner  in 
which  the  Indians,  before  the  Spaniards,  and  especially 
before  the  Ministers  of  the  Word,  humiliate  themselves  in 
outward  observances  in  which  they  profess  obedience  with 
bowed  heads.  In  giving  attention  to  the  ceremonious  man 
ner  of  this  obsequiosness  truly  one  might  say  that  they  arch 
themselves,  because  they  bend  themselves  like  bows.  It 
is  plain  that  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  adding  artificially 
to  their  natural  manner  in  order  the  better  to  conceal 
their  intentions,  they  made  use  of  these  ceremonies  before 
those  Religious  Ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

Of  each  one  of  those  Indians,  individually,  the  author 
of  Ecclesiastes  seems  to  have  been  speaking,  in  Chapter  12, 
when,  as  if  speaking  to  each  of  the  Missionaries,  he  says: 
"Et  si  liumiliatus  vadat  currvfi.  adiice  animum  tuum}  ei 
cmtodite  ad  illo." 

"Although  obsequiously  humbling  himself,  he  bends  be- 


14 

fore  Thee,  or  bending  with  reverence  he  humbles  himself, 
take  good  heed  and  guard  Thyself  from  him." 

The  erudite  Padre  Salvador  de  Leon,  of  the  Sacred  So 
ciety  of  Jesus,  speaking  of  these  words,  says  that  the 
word  "curvus"  applies  equally  to  the  deceptive  enemy  and 
the  bow,  for,  while  the  wood  is  useless  for  shooting  while 
it  is  straight,  and  then  gains  in  power  the  more  violently 
one  pulls  the  string  and  bends  the  bow,  thus  a  concealed 
treason  succeeds  best  when  it  bends  the  body  with  most 
affected  humility. 

"Similitude  aucus  haec  est,  ut  cum  armatur,  incurvatur 
ad  jacienda  majori  impetu  sagittam,  sic  inimicus  sim- 
ulaius" 

And  in  whom,  let  me  ask,  can  the  craft  of  treason  find 
with  most  certainty  the  victim  of  its  blow?  In  the  true 
of  heart;  ".Ut  sagittent  in  obscuro  rector  corde" 

If  righteousness  is  opposed  to  duplicity,  how  much  more 
is  the  soul  which  is  true  and  pure,  less  suspicious  and  less 
fearful  of  those  whom  it  believes  to  be  thankful  for  bene 
fits  bestowed. 

Says  the  same  Doctor,  referring  to  another  text',  which 
agrees  with  mine,  from  the  same  Prophet :  "Ut  sagittent 
in  oculifis  immaculatum.  Immaculatum  vocat  nihil  tale 
suspicantem,  nihil  ciusmodi  ab  illis  timentem.  Facilius 
immaculatus  el  simplex  insidiis,  et  fraudibus  capitur" 

By  this  the  target  experiences  the  certain  fury  of  the 
arrows,  for  they  are  directed  against  the  guileless  breast 
of  a  pure  religion. 

Let  us  give  attention  to  and  admire  the  case  of  the  Ven 
erable  Custodio  Fray  Juan  Bernal.  The  Indians  entered 
his  cell,  telling  him  that  the  Pueblos  of  the  Province  had 
risen  in  revolt,  and  that  they  were  of  a  "bad  heart,"  an 
idiomatic  phrase  in  their  language  by  which  they  signi 
fied  that  they  were  of  bad  inclinations  or  intentions:  that 
they  had  thought  it  best  to  give  this  information*  of  the 
conspiracy  in  order  that  he  might  send  notice  of  the  facts 
to  the  Governor,  and  that,  if  he  would  write  it  immediately 
and  would  give  them  the  letter,  they  would  carry  it  to  the 
Governor  themselves  in  testimony  of  their  fidelity.  He 
made  it  and  gave  it  to  them ;  but  scarcely  had  they  received 


15 

it,  when  with  the  cruelty  of  barbarism  and  with  atrocious 
sacrilege,  they  took  his  life. 

"Facilius  immaculatus,  et  simplex  insidiis,  ei  fraudibus 
capitur. 

It  is  right  that  we  should  shed  tears  of  tenderness  over 
the  death  of  these  martyrs,  and  the  sigh  of  sorrow  should 
take  the  form  of  funeral  demonstration.  But  even -over 
sorrow,  consoling  thoughts  should  prevail,  from  the  well- 
founded  hope  that  those  who  have  thus  suffered  have  passed 
to  the  better  life. 

In  the  very  letter,  placed  by  Jeremiah,  before  the  verse 
in  which  he  laments  the  persecution  of  Christ  and  his 
Church,  which  he  prophetically  saw  in  the  future,  he  man 
ifests  in  words  appropriate  to  alleviate  the  sorrow  and  pain 
of  the  heart,  a  mystical  reason  for  moving  to  consolation. 
In-  this  verse,  in  which,  under  the  metaphor  of  the  arrows 
which  pierce,  his  compassion  gives  rise  to  sighs  and  tears 
over  the  persecution  of  Christ  and  the  tribulation  of  the 
Church,  "Missit  in  renibus  meis  filias  pharatrae  suae"  he 
places  the  Hebrew  letter  of  the  alphabet  ''He,"  where  this 
letter  gives  an  emphatic  warning. 

"11  e"  is  very  appropriate  for  the  sorrows  of  those  who 
lament,  just  as  the  similar  sound  in  Latin,  "Hei"  which 
is  ad  interjection  expressive  of  sadness  and  a  representa 
tive  of  sorrow. 

But  as  this  very  letter,  like  all  the  other  Hebrew  letters, 
has  its  appropriate  significance,  what  is  the  meaning  of 
the  letter  'He?'  The  same  as  that  of  the  Latin  word 
"Vivo"  "I  live,  I  have  life." 

So  then,  in  the  case  of  a  verse  whose  words  signify  future 
persecution  of  the  Faithful,  under  the  metaphor  of  arrows, 
which  pierce  them,  why  then  does  he  place  before  it  a  let 
ter  which  signifies  "Life?"  For  this  precise  reason,  be 
cause  this  suffering  is  joyous — it  is  the  sure  ro<ad  to  life; 
because  the  better  title  corresponding  to  such  deaths  is  to 
call  them  lives. 

On  this  subject,  Cardinal  Hugo  says : 

"Misit  in  renibus  meis  filias  pharatrae  suae.  Huic  claus- 
ualae,  praeponitur  He,  quae  interpretatur  vivo,  velesse,  et 


1C. 

rectc.  (jui a  ///c  ai/ilur  >lc   tfibufation    ihii*  ('linsti.  <•/    /v- 
clesiae." 

In  the  obsequies,  then,  of  these  religious  men,  Minister.- 
of  the  (Jospel,  killed  through  the  violence  of  a  secret  con 
federated  apostasv,  Jeremiah  lends  to  our  >orrow  and  fo 
our  confidence,  this  letter  "!/<',"  in  order  that  with  it.  at 
the  game  time  that  our  sorrow  weeps  over  the  death,  we 
may  be  consoled  by  our  hope  of  a  better  life. 

This  hope  of  the  better  life  is  much  strengthened  by 
the  manner  of  their  death.  For.  though  to  declare  it  mar 
tyrdom,  as  I  have  said,  is  a  matter  which  belongs  ex 
clusively  to  the  sovereign  judgment  of  the  Holy  Apostolic 
See,  without  whose  supreme  determination,  our  ex  press  i  on  - 
are  merely  human  and  fallible;  yet.  remembering  all  that 
and  limiting  ourselves  to  what  is  permissible  to  the  pru 
dent  human  judgment,  we  may  say  that  their  lives  were 
sacrificed  to  simply  hatred  of  the  Christian  Religion:  and 
as  this  was  the  motive  of  the  conspiracy,  it  is  natural  for 
Christian  men,  priests  and  Religious,  to  believe  that,  out  of 
respect  for  the  Faith,  they  should  feel  an  affection  for  the 
dead  who  thus  suffered. 

If  the  hatred  of  the  conspirators  distinguished  as  to  per- 
.-ons.  they  would  only  kill  those  whom  they  dislike:  exe 
cuting  their  intention  on  some  and  not  on  others. 

But  they  did  not  hate  the  individual,  but.  only  th 
tian,  as  the  Jemex  Indians  clearly  explained  to  the 
able  aged  Frav  Juan  de  Jesus,  when  gathering  in 
of  their  pueblo  they  separated  themselves  into  tw 
some  in  favor  of  killing  him  and  other-  of  defe 
and  seeing  the  danger  of  manv  deaths  which  was  occasioned 
hv  their  dissension,  he  said:  "Children,  1  am  a  poor  old 
man.  do  not  fight,  do  not  kill  each  other  in  order  to  pro 
tect  me;  do  what  God  permit-.  And  then.  pierciiiLT  him 
through  with  a  sword,  and  giving  him  numberless  blows 
with  macanas.  they  took  his  life. 

1  have  enlarged  on  this  human  probability,  in  mv  dis 
course,  because,  if  the  hatred  had  existed  against  individ 
uals,  thov  would  not  have  made  contemptuous  ridicule  of 
-acred  things:  and  would  not  have  intoned  with  mockery 
and  scoffing  the  Alabado  (hvmn  smii:  in  honor  of  the  Sac- 


17 

rament)  and  the  other  prayers  of  the  Church,  as  the  Gov 
ernor  states  in  his  letter;  nor  would  they  have  burned  the 
Temples.  So  then,  their  mad  action  came  from  a  hatred 
of  the  Religion ;  and  as  at  the  same  time  that  the  Ministers, 
who  were  living  Temples  of  God,  were  sacrificed  by  the 
strokes  of  the  arrows,  so  likewise  the  material  temples 
were  reduced  to  ashes  by  the  voracity  of  the  flames,  so 
that  the  words  of  the  Prophet  might  apply  to  this  terrible 
havoc:  "Sagittae  potentis  acutae  cam  car~bombus  desola- 
toriis." 

Speaking,  then,  without  going  beyond  limits,  and  con 
sidering  those  Venerable  Men  in  their  conflict  with  per 
secution,  and  in  the  anguish  which  they  suffered,  permit  me 
to  express  this  thought : 

That  in  the  circumstances  in  which  the  wounds  caused 
suffering,  they  filled  up  the  measure  of  what  was  lacking 
in  the  suffering  of  St.  Francis  from  his  wounds. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  discourse  it  is  important  to  con 
sider  the  benefits  which  those  Indians  had  received  from 
the  Holy  Religion,  as  well  in  temporal  matters  as  in  spirit 
ual,  which  were  so  ungratefully  returned.  The  least  is, 
and  this  certainly  is  much,  to  take  them  out  from  the 
treacherous  forests  where1  they  lived  like  wild  beasts,  to  a 
civilized  life,  when  they  were  exposed  to  all  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather  and  were  wandering  naked  through  the 
woods,  to  teach  them  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  in  order 
that  it  might  furndsh  an  abundance  of  food,  which  their 
labors1  and  the  toils  of  the  household  had  afforded  to  them 
before  that  time  only  in  great  scarcity. 

The  greatest  is  in-  instructing  them  in  the  knowledge  of 
God,  bringing  them  to  the  Church  for  the  Waters  of  Bap 
tism  and  keeping  for  their  benefit,  during  a  hundred  years, 
a  sufficient  number  of  Ministers  for  the  administration  of 
the  Holy  Sacraments  at  such  extended  distances. 

I  suppose  also  that  Saint  Francis  wounded  is  a  living 
copy  of  Christ  wounded.  For  this,  that  wonder  of  our 
century  in  the  Oratoria,  that  palm  of  all  times  in  the  pu- 
pit,  the  Reverend  Padre  Antonio  de  Vieyra,  of  the  Sacred 
Society  of  Jesus,  in  a  sermon  on  the  wounds  (Llagas), 
which  ho  preached  at  Rome  on  this  text  from  St.  Paul: 


18 

"Ad  impleo  ea,  quae  dessunl  1'a.^wnum  L'ltristi  in  rurne 
mea."  (Coles.  1.)  He  discoursed  concerning  two  impres 
sions  of  the  wounds  of  Christ,  one  in  his  own  body,  the 
other  in  that  of  His  Servant,  Francis.  And  as,  when  tin 
impression  is  repeated,  the  defects  which  occurred  in  the 
first  are  corrected  in  the  second,  it  was  made  the  effort  of 
his  oration  to  argue  that  in  the  wounds  of  St.  Francis, 
some  errors  were  amended,  not  of  the  original,  but  of  the 
impression;  because  that  in  the  wounds  of  Christ  there 
were  not,  nor  could  there  be,  defects  to  be  corrected.  That 
there,  on  Calvary,  those  who  made  the  impression  were 
the  Ministers  of  the  Synagogue,  armed  with  anger,  injus 
tice,  cruelty  and  hatred ;  but  in  the  wounds  of  St.  Francis, 
there  was  only  the  impress  of  Love. 

I  am  well  assured  that  it  was  from  the  peculiar  tender 
ness  of  Christ,  that  He  wished  that  only  by  His  love  there 
should  be  given  the  second  impression  of  His  wounds  in 
the  body  of  His  Servant;  however,  I  would  say,  that  for 
the  reason  that  in  the  wounds  of  St.  Francis,  Love  was  the 
only  impresser,  something  of  suffering  was  lacking  in  them 
which  Christ  suffered  in  His,  because  that  in  those  of 
Christ,  together  with  the  love  of  the  Father  which  wounded 
Him  for  our  benefit,  there  existed  also  the  hatred  of  those 
who  imposed  the  impression,  and  the  ingratitude  of  men. 
.  The  sin  which  is  committed  by  the  persecutor  is  not 
loved  by  God ;  but  the  patience  of  the  persecuted  He  loves ; 
and  thus  we  see  one  of  the  most  admirable  points  of  his 
most  high  Providence,  that  without  loving  the  wrong  of 
the  hand  which  wounds,  He  may  love  the  suffering  of  the 
wound.  But  however  much  the  ingratitude  of  those  who 
wound  may  increase  the  agony  of  him  who  suffers,  without 
doubt,  he  suffers  most  who  receives  wounds  from  both 
hands;  from  the  hand  of  God  who  loves  while  bestowing 
suffering  and  also  from  the  hand  of  man,  who  ungrate 
fully  causes  it;  and  if  not,  let  us  observe  the  words  of 
Christ  in  Psalm  XLVIII,  where  in  considering  his  afflic 
tions  He  says  to  the  Father :  "Quoniam  quern  tu  percusisti, 
persecutisunt,  et  super  dolorem  vulnerum  meorum  addi- 
derunt" 


19 

"They  persecute  him  whom  Thou  hast  wounded,  and  add 
sorrows  -to  the  suffering  of  my  wounds." 

Observe  the  difference  in  the  words.  Of  the  Father,  He 
only  says  that  He  wounded  Him  " percussisti."  Of  His 
enemies,  He  says  that  they  persecuted  Him,  <f  persecute." 

Because  wounding  may  be  done  in  love,  but  persecution 
cannot  exist  without  hatred;  and  as  to  persecute  where 
one  ought  to  love,  was  to  add  the  sorrow  for  ingratitude 
to  the  suffering  of  the  wound,  Christ  says,  that  those  who 
persecute  Him  ungratefully  add  this  sorrow  to  the  suf 
fering  of  His  wounds;  "Et  super  dolorem  vulnerum  me- 
orum  addiderunt." 

Now,  Saint  Francis  wounded  is  the  image  of  Christ 
wounded;  if  we  examine  him,  himself,  we  see  that  some 
thing  is  lacking  in  the  copy  to'  make  it  exactly  like  the 
Original.  There  is  no  doubt  of  this,  as  in  his  body  Love 
was  the  only  impresser  of  his  wounds;  as  Juan  Bautino 
expresses  i'ti,  "in  Christo  invidia,  et  amor  haec  fecerunt, 
invidia  Judaeorum,  et  Charitas  Dei,  *  *  *  in  Fran 
cisco  solus  amor" 

And  thus  it  lacked  the  sorrow  which  ingratitude  added 
to  the  wounds. 

But  here  behold  the  love  of  God  to  Francis ;  for  whereas, 
in  his  actual,  physical  body  Love  alone  was  the  impresser 
of  his  wounds,  yet  in  the  body  of  his  Religion,  in  twenty- 
one  sons,  not  only  was  the  love  of  God,  the  impresser  of 
his  wounds  from  which  He  willed  that  he  should  suffer, 
but  hatred  was  allowed  to  do  its  work,,  by  which  ungrateful 
men,  who  ought  to  have  lived  most  thankfully  in  this  Holy 
Eeligion,  were  the  instruments  to  inflict  the  suffering. 
Yes,  we  may  learn  from  the  contemplation  of  the  love  of 
Christ  for  Francis,  that  in  all  things  he  should  be  like 
unto  Him;  and  Christ  has  in  the  mystical  body  of  His 
Church  a  St.  Paul,  who  says:  "Ad  impleo  quac  desunt 
passionum  Christi  in  came  mea  pro  corpore  eius,  quod  est 
Ecclesia"  In  order  that  there  should  not  lack  even  this 
resemblance  in  the  copy,  Francis  has,  in  the  body  of  his 
Religion,  that  which  fulfills  in  its  wounds  all  that  he  had 
suffered  in  his  own. 

I  pass  now  from  the  funeral  honors  to  the  deceased,  to 


20 

the  well-earned  honors  of  the  living;  but  without  losing 
sight  of  the  former.  I  pass  to  the  generous  resolution  with 
which  this  Holy  Keligion  returns  to  the  same  place  in 
which  it  had  suffered  persecution,  and  I  say : 

"That  if  to  profess  the  institution  of  Francis  is  to  pro 
fess  the  imitation  of  Christ  according  to  the  Gospel,  in 
no  better  way  can  His  sons  show  forth  this  imitation  than 
when,  without  avoiding  the  risks  through  fear,  they  obedi 
ently  bare  their  breasts  to  the  dangers." 

I  n  :  us  add  to  the  eulogies  of  the  Seraphic  Beligion  one 
feather  from  the  wings,  which,  although  they  be  those  of 
Lyra,  yet  are  not  out  of  place  amid  our  flow  of  tears.  This 
Doctor,  in  commenting  on  the  passage  which  is  the  foun 
dation  of  this  discourse,  alludes  to  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  reasons  which  they  stated  to  David  in*  order  to  prevent 
his  return  to  Judea,  where  he  had  suffered  from  the  perse 
cution  of  Saul,  was  that  they  had  destroyed  that  which  the 
hand  of  God  had  created. 

((Quoniam  quae  perfecisti,  destruxerunt."  And  in  ex 
plaining  what  destruction  had  taken  place,  which  would 
put  David  in  fear  of  returning,  he  says  in  his  commen 
taries  on  the  Psalm,  that  this  destruction  which  they  saw, 
this  havoc  to  which  they  alluded,  was  that  which  Saul 
executed  in  his  hatred  for  David,  whom  he  killed  Achime- 
lech,  as  is  narrated  in  Chapter  21,  of  the  First  Book  of 
Kings  (I  Samuel)  :  "Quoniam  quae,  perfecisti,  dcxlru.r- 
erunt.  Scilicet  Saul  et  Doeg,  et  alii  complices,  ut  habetur 
primo  Regum  22  in  odium  David." 

Let  us  briefly  examine  this  case  in  the  Book  of  Kings, 
and  we  will  find  that  it  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  our 
own.  I  will  not  detain  yon  with  an  application  of  all  the 
circumstances,  for  when  an  orator  has  an  audience  like 
this,  ho  on  joys  the  privilege  of  touching  lightly  on  the 
subject. 

Saul  had  some  kind  of  information  that  Achimelech  was 
favorable  to  David.  mid  he  sent  for  Aehiinolooh  and  for 
the  other  priests  of  his  family,  to  the  City  of  Xobo:  ".!//>•>•// 
cryo  rex  ad  accersendiim." 

They  ramo  into  hi?  presence,  and  after  some  talk,  giving 
place  in  his  hreast  to  the  fury  of  ansrrr  and  the  niachiees 


21 

of  his  wrath,  he  said  to  the  servants  whom  he  had  sent  to 
bring  them,  "Turn  and  slay  these  priests  of  the  Lord:" 
"Ait  rex  emissarUs,  qui  circunstabant  cum;  convertimini 
et  interficite  Sacer dotes  Domini/' 

The  more  he  perverts  the  will  in  the  execution  of  a 
crime,  the  more  will  reason  always  represent  his  deformity. 

He  recognized  them  as  priests  of  the  Lord,  and  called 
them  so  when  he  ordered  them  to  be  slain :  " Interficite  Sac- 
erdotes  Domini/' 

Those  servants  resisted  such  a  terrible  sin  and  were  not 
willing  to  lay  hands  sacrilegiously  on  the  Priests  of  Gk>d. 
"Nolverunt  autem  servi  regis  extendere  mantis  suas  in 
Sacerdotes  Domini."  They  were  wearing  the  linen  Ephod, 
the  garb  (as  Tbstado  observes)  of  the  minor  priests,  by 
which  they  were  distinguished  from  the  High  Priests: 
"Quidam  erat  Sacer dos  Magnus,  et  alii  minor es,  sed  nulla 
de  vestibus  Summi  Sacerdotis  pertinebat  ad  minores" 
And  why  were  they  dressed  in  that  manner?  Because  it 
is  the  ecclesiastical  dress,  which  was  used  solely  by  the 
priests  assigned  to  conduct  the  worship  of  their  religion, 
to  lift  up  their  hands  to  move  the  heart  of  Saul  from  its 
furies  to  good  deeds. 

Hugo  gives  this  paraphrase:  ffUt  per  liabitum  Relig- 
ionis  moveretur  animus  regis  ad  pietate" 

Then  Saul,  turning  to  Doeg,  the  Edomite,  told  him  to 
kill  them;  and  he  fell  upon  them  and  slew  them  bloodily 
accordinng  to  this  atrocious  command  of  Saul:  "Conversus 
que  Doeg  Idumeus  irriut  in  Sacerdotes,  et  trucidavit" 

How  could  one  do  this  to  so  many?  Because  not  one 
(answers  el  Tostado)  defended  himself;  because  they  did 
not  attempt  to  resist;  because  it  was  simply  their  duty  to 
suffer. 

Here,  again,  is  another  circumstance  that  is  worthy  of 
attention.  Why  did  Deog  execute  this  sacrilege  which  the 
other  servants  were  not  willing  to  perform  ?  Because  they 
were  old  in  their  knowledge  and  profession  of  the  Law  of 
God.  Doeg  was  a  man  from  Idumea,  recently  converted, 
a  Neophite,  inexperienced  in  his  knowledge  of  God;  and 
in  these  matters,  when  the  faith  is  new,  irreverence  has 
more  audacity  against  the  priests. 


22 

Hence  arose  the  advice  to  David  that  he  should  not  re 
turn  to  Judea  where  they  had  experienced  the  persecution 
of  Saul  in  the  case  referred  to;  which  has  so  many  points 
of  jesemblance  to  our  own. 

Now  let  us  pass  from  the  actual  to  the  allegory.  Bishop 
Christopolitano  adjusting  that  which  was  figured  to  the 
figure  itself,  says:  "That  here  David  returning  to  Judea 
represented  Christ  returning  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  as 
they  attempted  to  dissuade  David  from  returning  by  set 
ting  forth  the  dangers  which  had  already  been  experienced, 
so  likewise  the  disciples  represented  to  Christ  the  danger 
which  awaited  Him  in  Jerusalem,  where  a  little  while  be 
fore  they  had  wished  to  kill  him;  and  that  as  David,  dis 
regarding  their  counsel,  obeyed  that  of  the  Prophet  Gad, 
who  told  Him  to  return;  so  Christ,  im  obedience  to  His 
Father,  returned  to  Jerusalem  against  the  persuasion  of 
His  disciples. 

Now  we  have  the  letter  and  the  allegory,  and  from  the 
two  together  appears  the  moral,  that  in  the  imitation  of 
Christ,  His  Ministers,  not  allowing  danger  to  make  cow 
ards  of  them,  should  return  to  the  same  place  where  they 
have  experienced  the  danger  of  persecution. 

Now,  then,  let  us  observe  one  of  those  occasions  in  which 
the  counsel  which  Christ  gave  to  Peter,  of  love  to  his 
Master,  agrees  with  the  obedience  of  Christ  Himself  to 
His  Father.  Befer  to  the  Sixteenth  Chapter  of  St.  Mat 
thew,  where  immediately  after  the  rebuke  of  Christ  to  St. 
Peter,  because  he  attempted  to  dissuade  Him  from  enter 
ing  Jerusalem  to  suffer,  said  to  them,  "If  any  man  will 
'come  after  me,  let  him  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 
<"Tunc  Jesus  dixit  Discipulis  suis,  Si  quis  milt"  etc. 

Observe  that  word  "Time,"  "Thru."  Then  Ho  said  these 
words,  when  they  were  endeavoring  to  dissuade  Him  from 
•returning  to  Jerusalem;  that  is  to  say.  that  the  imitation 
of  Christ  is  most  brilliant,  when,  without  bein.2;  intimi 
dated  by  the  risk  incurred,  one  returns  with  his  Cross  to 
the  very  place  of  dan^r. 

'  .--Now,  here  is  tho  singular  losson.  These  words  of  Christ 
have  I  know  not  what  special  relation  with  the  sons  of  St. 
Franeis.  It  is  a  case  of  singular  value  to  which  St.  Bona- 


23 

venture  refers  in  Chapter  3  of  his  life.  He  tells  us  that 
that  Venerable  man  Bernard,  the  first  born  of  the  Glorious 
Father  St.  Francis,  desired  to  renounce  the  world  in  his 
imitation,  and  besought  his  advice  in  order  to  execute  this 
intention ;  and  the  Saint  answered  him : 

"•A  Deo  est  hoc  concilium  requirendum."  "God  is  the 
one  who  must  give  this  advice." 

The  next  morning  he  went  with  Bernard  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Nicholas,  and  making  a  prayer  before  proceeding  to 
the  matter  that  he  had  in  hand,  in  the  Name  of  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity,  he  opened  three  times  the  Book  of  the  Gos 
pel,  praying  to  God  that  with  three  testimonies  of  His 
Gospel  the  holy  intention  of  Bernard  might  be  confirmed. 
The  first  time  he  found  these  words,  in  which  Christ  tells 
of  the  high  perfection  of  evangelical  poverty.  ffln  prima 
libra  a  pertione  illud  occurrit :  Si  vis  perfectus  esse,  vade 
et  vende  omnia  quae  habes.,  et  da  pauribus." 

In  the  second  the  following  appeared:  "Nihil  tuleritis 
in  via/'  in  which  Christ  instructs  His  servants,  the  mis 
sionaries,  as  to  journeys. 

In  the  third,  these  words:  Qui  vult  venire  post  me, 
abneget  semetipsum,  et  tollat  Crucem,  suam  quotidie,  et 
sequatur  me!' 

And  then  St.  Francis  added,  "This  is  our  life;  this  is 
our  rule;  this  is  to  be  followed  by  all  who  wish  to  be  my 
companions."  Thus  the  life  of  the  sons  of  St.  Francis, 
as  he  testified  himself,  is  Poverty,  Journeying  and  the 
Cross ;  and  the  Cross  exemplified  by  the  words  which  Christ 
Himself  said,  that  they  should  return  to  the  place  to  which 
they  were  told  not  to  go  on  account  of  persecution. 

If,  therefore,  to  profess  the  institution!  of  Francis,  is  to 
profess  the  imitation  of  Christ  according  to  the  Gospel, 
his  sons  can  never  show  forth  this  institution  in  a  better 
manner,  than  when,  without  endeavoring  to  avoid  any 
risks,  they  obediently  bare  their  breasts  to  all  danger. 

But  in  whom  can  this  Holy  Keligion  place  its  hopes  for 

such  an  arduous  task?     In'  God.     "In  Domino  confido: 

Quomodo    dicitis    animaemeac:     Transmigra   in    montem 

sicut  passer/' 

;  To  what  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God  can  its  poverty 


24 

have  recourse,  for  its  sustenance  in  so  wide  a  iield,  and  in 
so  distant  a  mission,  and  to  provide  soldiers  and  guarantee 
its  defence  against  new  dangers?  To  the  Catholic  King 
of  Spain,  DON  CARLOS  SEGTJNDO,  our  Lord,  in  whose 
name,  and  with  whose  good  will,  not  prefunctory  but 
morally  certain,  your  Excellency  has  already  appropriated 
ninety-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  the  Priests 
who  will  return,  of  2,000  persons  who  are  awaiting  them 
in'  El  Paso  del  Rio  del  Norte,  and  of  50  soldiers  of  the 
garnsotti. 

This  recourse  to  the  liberal  hand  of  a  Catholic  Kinu. 
when  the  Christian  Religion  suffers  persecution,  in  order 
that  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  may  be  sustained  when 
they  are  being  persecuted,  if  it  is  realized  as  expected,  this 
is  one  of  those  occasions  in  which  it  seems  to  be  fulfilled. 

I  call  attention  to  the  great  Father  of  the  Church,  Saint 
Augustine,  in  the  Epistle  Number  Fifty  of  Volume  Two 
of  his  works.  In  his  time,  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
harassed  by  the  Donatists,  appealed  to  the  Christian  Em 
peror,  for  protection  against  persecution,  not  for  the  sav 
ing  of  their  lives,  but  that  the  permanent  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  might  be  assured.  This  was  such  an  evident 
duty,  says  the  Saint,  that  it  would  have  been  culpable  to 
neglect  it.  "Cum  igitur  his  angustiis  afligeretur  Ecclesia, 
quisquis  exist  imat  omnia  potius  sustinenda,  quam  Dei 
auxilium,  ut  per  Christianvs  Imperatores  ferretur,  fuisse 
poscendum,  parum  attendit,  non  bonam  de  hoc  negligentia 
reddi  potuisse  rationem."  The  enemies  of  the  Church 
argued  that  the  appeal  was  against  the  custom  of  the  Apos 
tles,  as  they  never  sought  the  protection  of  the  Kings  of 
the  earth,  nor  their  patronage  nor  defence;  "Dicunt 
non  petisse  a  Regibus  terrae  Apostolos  talia." 

St.  Augustine  showed  the  fallacy  of  this  objection,  and 
answered  them,  "In  the  time  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the 
primitive  Church,  it  was  these  very  Emperors  and  Kinirs 
who  were  the  persecutors  and  how  then  could  they  ask 
them  to  be  their  protectors?  Which  of  the  Emperors  then 
believed  in  Christ,  that  they  could  be  of  use  in  the  de 
fense  of  piety  against  impiety?  Could  the  Church,  per- 
chamce,  ha\v  applied  to  Xero  or  Domitian  or  Trajan  or 


25 

Antoninus,  or  any  other  of  those  whose  hatred  of  Religion 
was  such  that  with  all  the  shedding  of  Christian  blood, 
the  relentless  thirst  of  their  cruelty  was  never  satisfied?" 

Do  you  not  see  that  in  these  early  times  of  the  Church, 
it  was  simply  complying  with  the  prophecy  of  David,  in 
which  he  predicted  that  the  Princes  and  Kings  of  the 
earth  were  to  gather  themselves  together  against  the  Lord, 
they  were  to  combine  themselves  against  Christ?  "Quis 
enim  tune  in  Christum  crediderat  Imperator,  qui  ei  pro- 
pietate  contra  impietatem  serviret.  Quando  adhuc  illud 
propheticum  complebatur.  Astiterunt  Reges  terrae,  et 
Principes  convenerunt  in  unum  adversus  Dominum,  et 
adversus  Christum  eius" 

But  if  this  were  then,  observe  a  "now"  which  the  Prophet 
adds,  and  understand  that  the  times  now  have  improved, 
in*  that  the  Catholic  Kings,  for  the  service  of  God,  defend 
the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  thus  they  can  take  ad 
vantage  of  the  protection  which  they  lacked  before.  "Non 
dum  autem  agebatur  quod  paulo  post  in  eode  Psalmo  dic- 
itur:  Et  nunc  Reges  intelligite,  erudimini,  qui  judicatis 
terram,  servite  Domino  in  timore." 

Now  we  enjoy  that  happy  time  in  which  there  are  Kings, 
who  serve  as  Kings.  Et  tune  Reges  servite  Domino." 
That  is,  who  employ  in  his  service  the  same  royal  power 
which  they  enjoy,  because  happily  they  use  it  in  the  exten 
sion  of  worship,  in  the  propagation  of  the  Faith,  in  the 
spreading  of  the  Gospel,  their  power  being  then  most  gem^ 
erously  noble,  when  that  power  is  most  humbly  the  slave 
of  the  Christian  Eeligion. 

"Illos  felices  Reges"  said  St.  Augustine  in  another  place, 
"Et  beatos  judicat  Christiana  Religio,  qui  sua  pot  estate  ad 
Dei  cultum  maxime  dilatandum  maistati  eius  famulam 
faciunt" 

So  this  Seraphic  Religion  has  recourse  to  the  pious  muni 
ficence  of  the  King  our  Lord,  this  being  one  of  the  occa 
sions  iint  which,  to  the  glory  of  our  Catholic  Kings  of  Spain, 
is  seen  fulfilled  that  which  David  prophesied. 

And  this  is  obtained  also  by  the  other  Sacred  Religions, 
whose  ardent  zeal  in  the  conversion  of  the  infidels,  and 
whose  vigilance  in  the  ministry,  and  whose  diligence  in 


26 

doctrine,  makes  them  highly  worthy  of  the  protection  and 
magnificent  liberality  with  which  the  King,  our  Lord, 
favors  them. 

Could  there  be  a  nobler  example  of  an  evangelical  mis 
sionary  than  St.  Paul?  No.  Then,  in  truth,  (says  St. 
Augustine,  continuing  to  controvert  the  objection  of  the 
Donatists),  as  is  read  in  Chapter  23  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  he  gave  an  account  to  the  Tribune  of  the  con 
spiracy,  with  which  the  Hebrews  intended  to  kill  him; 
and  it  resulted  from  this  that  the  Tribune  provided  him 
with  a  guard  of  soldiers  as  a  protection  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  whenever  the  fury  of  the  conspiracy  endangered 
his  life. 

It  is  clear  that  the  Apostle  does  not  refer  here  to  the 
saving  of  his  temporal  life,  but  the  service  of  the  Church ; 
because  where  the  conspiracy  is  feared,  it  is  not  that 
the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  should  be  defended,  but  that 
they  should  be  preserved  in  order  to  increase  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel. 

"Neque  enim,  et  Apostolus  Paulus  vitae  suae  transito- 
riae  consulebat,  sed  EccUsiae  Dei,  quando  contra  illos,  qui 
eum  occidere  conspira  verant,  consilium  illornm  Tribuno 
ut  proderetur,  efecit.  Unde  factum  est  ut  eum  ad  locum, 
quo  fuer  at  perducendus,  deduceret  miles  armatus,  ne  illo- 
rum  pateretur  inMias" 

The  Saint  here  puts  the  singular  for  the  plural,  some 
what  in  imitation  of  Virgil :  "TJterumque  armato  milite 
complent:"  as  will  appear  from  the  text  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  in  which  history  it  is  mentioned  that  the  guard 
of  soldiers  which  the  Tribune  put  in  charge  of  the  person 
of  St.  Paul  were  many. 

When,  therefore,  this  most  religious  Seraphic  Family 
sought  and  found  succor  in  the  zeal  of  the  King,  our  Lord, 
and  was  protected,  it  is  clear  that  the  object  was  not  to 
preserve  m  its  sons  this  transitory  life,  but  to  restore  to 
spiritual  life  the  souls  of  those  miserable  apostates,  whom 
its  fervor  had  begotten,  by  the  Gospel,  at  the  cost  of  such 
.great  labor. 

The  Holy  Church  is  a  tree  of  such  size,  that  its  branches 
extend  over  all  the  compass  of  the  earth,  but,  like  a  mother, 


27 

it  laments  for  every  branch,  which,  by  reason  of  heresy  or 
apostasy,  is  broken  .off,  and  thus  this  Religion  weeps  for 
the  branch  broken  from  its  lost  Christianity,  just  as  Augus 
tine  mourned  for  a  little  separated  branch,  which,  with 
mateimal  affection  he  succeeded  in  engrafting  once  more 
in  the  trunk,  restoring  it  again  to  the  root  of  Faith,  with 
out  which  it  is  impossible  to  gain  the  better  life. 

"Utiq  ex  ipsa  magna  art  ore,  quae  ramorum  suorum  por- 
rectione  toto  orbe  diffunditur.,  iste  in  Africa  ramusculus 
•fractus  est,  eum  eos  charitate  parturiat,  ut  redeant  ad  radi- 
cem  sine  qua  veram  vitam  liabere  non  possunt" 

They  .also  accused  the  Donatists  of  covetousness  and 
greed:  "Obiiciunt  quod  res  eorum  concupiscamus" 

And  how  if  I  should  respond  in  defense  and  applause 
of  this  sacred  Religion,  when  it  seeks  again  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  reduction  of  those  whom  we  deplore  as  Apos 
tates,  and  say :  "If  we  have  the  'necessary  means,  it  is  not 
for  ourselves,  for  with  us  to  hold  property  is  an  execrable 
offense,  but  we  wish  it  only  to  distribute  to  the  poor,  whose 
agents  we  are  to  procure  it." 

"Si  autem  privitam,  quae  nobis  sufficiant  possidemus, 
non  sunt  ilia  nostra,  sed  pauperum,  quorum  procurationem 
modo  gerimus.,  non  proprietatem  nobis  usurpatione  damn- 
abili  vendicamus" 

What  other  thing  can  the  zeal  of  this  religion  seek  in  a 
few  naked  Indians,  except  to  bring  them  to  God? 

Seek  them  then  again ;  clothe  them  again;  and  filled  with 
a  desire  for  their  restoration,  exclaim  in  the  words  which 
St.  Augustine  adds,  fflpsi  potius  foris  positi  *  *  *  in- 
trent  in  unitatis  societatem,  ut  pariter  gubernemus,  non 
ilia  tanium,  quae  dicuntur  sua,  verum  etiam,  quae  dicuntur 
et  nostra." 

Oh !  that  they  would  return  to  the  unity  of  the  Church, 
so  that  with  us  they  may  enoy  not  cmly  that  which  they 
call  theirs,  but  also  that  which  is  called  ours,  but  yet  is 
not  so,  because  we  have  no  ownership  in  anything. 

Oh !  that  they  would  return ;  for  then  would  be  the 
greatest  consolation  to  the  martyrs  whom  we  lament  to 
day,  to  see  them  once  more  within  the  pale  of  the  Church, 


in  which,  by  the  aid  of  GodV  o-r;i,v.  th.-y  could  be  restored 
to  the  path  of  Glory. 
Ad  quam,  etc. 

t  O.S.C.S.M.E.C.R.  f 


